IDWeek 2014: HIV Pharmacist Reconciliation & ART Prescription Errors

The Particulars: Previous research has shown that antiretroviral therapy (ART) prescribing errors are relatively common in hospitalized patients with HIV. Use of a medication reconciliation process with an HIV pharmacist and a unified electronic medical record (EMR) may help reduce these errors.

Data Breakdown: Study investigators prospectively reviewed the medical records of HIV-infected patients admitted to a hospital for more than 24 hours over the course of 1 year. Medication errors were identified in 16.7% of admissions, the most common being incorrect scheduling, followed by drug omissions and drug–drug interactions. All were corrected, with about two-thirds occurring within 24 hours and 81.4% within 48 hours. Use of a unified EMR decreased errors by 61.0%. Errors were 9.4 times more likely to be corrected within 24 hours with the HIV pharmacist intervention.

Take Home Pearls: Use of an EMR appears to drastically reduce the number of ART prescribing errors among hospitalized patients with HIV. Use of HIV pharmacist reconciliation also appears to be an important factor toward correcting errors in a timely fashion.